Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-03-30
"sBut your object is to escape from

"sGranted. l killed an old man,
7ho had only two or three years to
i've, any how. | have been shut up
wo years for it. 1t was my first and
,nly crime, and have bitterly repent
ID 1t. Let me go out into the world
ind / shall be good man under an
,ther name. The law will suppose me
lead and be satisfied
s'In the end he overcame my fears
and scruples and / agreed to his plans,
out we were baffied at the very outset
oy the fact that vacation was coming
On, while the college had more sub
ects than it needed. This was June,
you will remember, and it would be
near October before Harney's plan
could be carried out. Wecould safely
figure in this case the same as In all
others. The prison doctor was an old
uuack, who had secured his place
through politics. Il was we'll known
among the medical fraternity that he
was stupid and ignorant, and that the
patients who took his doses were Ss
likely to die as to mend. When q
convict died, the case was nearly al
ways reported as typhoid fever. The
old fellow appeared to reason that
this was O. virulent disease, which he
could not be expected to cure, and
consumption, lung fever. and nearly
everything else went down In his re-
ports as 'Tiefoid fever-badd case 1t
was his rule to get the body out OF
the way as soon as possible. II g. con-
Wet died early in the morning he was
buried in the afternoon, or his body
sent to the college in the evening. Il
he died about dusk his body was dis
posed OF before midnight.
"tConvicts are useless critters after
the breath leaves 'em,' he said to me
on one occasion, and keeping q
corpse around here kinder discourages
the living
"When I informed Harvey that it
would be three months before our
plans could be attempted he grew des-
perate. He telt certain in his own
mind that we should achieve success,
and the idea OF delay made him reck-
less. The prison graveyard was then
q part of the city graveyard, or at
least separated only by q fence. A
dead convict was lifted into q pine
coffin, the lid screwed down, and two
men with one-horse wagon drove to
the graveyard and dumped the box
into g. three-foot hole, and filled the
hole up. There was no ceremony and
no feeling. knew all these facts, for
I had seen several burlals, but how
Harvey could know them was puzzle
to me until | learned that he got them
while in jail awaiting sentence. He
now proposed that he should die and
be buried, and that [ should dig him
up and carry him Off, and wait for life
to come. This called for far more
nerve than the other plan, and |
would not give him an answer until l
had found fellow enthusiast who en-
tered into the plot with great alacrity.
We rented q room, arranged for q
horse and wagon, provided ourselves
with an electric battery, various re-
storativess wine and food, and on the
afternoon of the 21st day of June
promised Harvey that would be
ready on the following night. He was
greatly elated, and assured me that ii
there was any hitch in the programme
it would not be his fault. When [ lett
him | went to the doctors Office in the
prison, and after g. few general re.
MARKS observed:
"Well, doctor. is there much sick.
ness?''
"sNo, not much
"We shan't want any more cadav.
ers before October
"tNo, suppose not. Well, it isn't
much of a JOB to plant 'em.'
Jt,cf 4al II q
No. 80. He is lookingpowerful bad,
and [ predict that he won't live g
month
killarney! o, yes. I was noticing
him the other day. Got all the points
of tiefoid, he has, and he may drop
off any day
"'Well give him g. decent burial
doctor. Good-day.'
[ had scored g. point for my man
The doctor was prepared for his death
and would make the usual record.
This is what happened at the prison
soon after I left: The doctor was In
formed That Harvey was i'll, and went
in to see him and found him feverisf
and Tightly, Eith his pull g way up.
"'Sorry for you, Harvey, said the
old quack, after making q brief ex
animation, but I'm afraid you are
going to be q very sick man.
"'Yes, think SO, DOCTOR
"'You've got all the symptoms O
tiefoid: and if the disease gets gooc
grip on you it will be g. hard job tc
pull you through
"'Doctor, it's no use, whispered
Harvey, IF anybody can save mt
you can; but feel that [ have only 6
short time to live. I've had trouble
with my heart for long time, and
feel as if I was gradually going te
pieces
"sWell, I'll send you in some pow
ders, and perhaps you'll brace up
but, to be honest with you, thint
your hours are numbered
''Next morning Harvey was much
worse, and the doctor gave up al
hopes, and sent the chaplain in tt
console the dying man. Harvey wal
very penitent, and when the good
man left him it was with the firm con
viction that the dying convict haG
truly repented of all his sins At